


not as brave as you were at the start

by ElectricEuphonium



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 21:30:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10885305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElectricEuphonium/pseuds/ElectricEuphonium
Summary: Rocket pushes too far, and pisses his teammates off, and thinks too much.





	not as brave as you were at the start

**Author's Note:**

> Keepin' up the momentum! I actually found this buried in my google doc, I don't know why I haven't posted it. Based on a prompt from the roquill kink meme on Tumblr. The prompt was: "Rocket does something that annoys the rest of the guardians into basically yelling at him. The next time they stop at a planet, Rocket tries to run away, and Peter ends up stopping him. Hurt/comfort sex if possible?" I think I'll do the sex in another chapter?

Let it never be said that Rocket knows when to quit. He knew he was probably overstepping a line as he kept teasing Gamora, but he was having fun. She was getting angry, but not too seriously angry, the sort of angry where she’ll get over it in a minute or so, and the kind that gives him a ton of amusement. It might have been a desire of more of that or just the atmosphere that made him go too far. “Hey, look, Gam, we can’t all have genocidal maniacs for relatives. You think that if Thanos kills us all he’ll let you live with him again?”

  
“You think I would allow that to happen?!” Rocket’s eyes widened as Gamora’s voice echoed in the living area. “You have no idea what it was like to live under him!”

  
“Do not say such things, even in jest,” Drax said sternly, like a parent reprimanding a child. It made Rocket’s face flush with shame.

  
“I, uh…” He cleared his throat as he glanced around at the disapproving faces of his teammates. “I’m gonna head to bed. Long day.”

  
~

  
His bed didn’t help, as he continued to dwell on it long after.

  
_You fucking idiot. Why the hell would you say that? You want them to just start makin’ jokes about Halfworld? You want them to start callin’ you rodent, freak, monster?_

  
The rational part of his mind had to argue that they would never do that. They already knew what that kind of thing did to him, had seen the results of it firsthand. They probably didn’t want another drunken breakdown.

  
_God, that day._

  
He made such a scene. They must have been so embarrassed to be associated with him. He can’t imagine what it’s like to be his teammate, to have to drag around a monster everywhere you go. Dragging him around as he drags his feet and drags the team down. Last time they went out on a mission, he had shown his ass again by using some big flashy gun and blowing up a huge section of the complex they were in. He ended up releasing some kind of gas and they had to bail out. He felt like such a joke. His eyes began welling up with tears that he fought back hard. He didn’t need to be crying like some kind of pansy.

  
_Do they even need me?_

  
_Do they even want me?_

  
He wouldn’t, if he was in their situation. If he had a teammate who behaved like him, who was such an asshole and a liability, no redeeming qualities whatsoever? They’d be fucking gone. So what were they waiting for? An open invitation?

  
Rocket groaned and rolled onto his side, pulling his covers up further over his torso. He could make things easier for them and leave. It would be simple, just bail out the next time they stopped for refueling. They didn’t want him there anyway, and if he grabbed a couple of his things that he can carry in a bag and sneak out, it would be easy. He could probably do it.

  
He could definitely do it.

  
He was gonna do it.

  
They didn’t need him anymore, anyway. Groot would be a bit torn up, but he’d get over it. He survived without Rocket before, he’d still survive after. One thing dragged him away from his plan though.

  
_Peter._

  
Peter fucking Quill. Easily one of the hottest people he’d ever seen. Such an idiot, but completely sincere and likeable. He worked hard to make sure everyone was getting along and cooperating. He kept up morale. When Rocket was feeling down he talked to him, comforted him. Rocket had honestly never met someone like him. Leaving him would hurt...but he had dealt with hurt before. Besides, Peter usually comforted him, and he wasn’t here right now. After Gamora and Drax had said their piece, Peter had only looked at him, expression unreadable. Maybe how he acted earlier tonight was enough to make him realize that Rocket wasn’t necessary on the ship. Maybe Quill had the same series of revelations that Rocket had, namely that he was fucking useless.

Sleep doesn’t come easy.

  
He got lucky and they landed the very next day. With a gun, his tablet, and his units all packed into a bag, he walked out of his room.

  
No one was in the hallway, good. He silently padded down the hallway and into the common area; no one there either. He reached the bottom exit and looked back for a second.  
This couldn't be this easy, can it?  
He opened the hatch, stairs extending to the ground. He walked down them slowly, as if every move had the potential to alert every person on the Milano to his presence.  
Nothing. He pushed a button and the hatch swung back up. He took a look at his surroundings. They were parked at a fueling station in some mid-size city, the streets busy enough that he could disappear with relative ease.

  
_Good_ , he thought, and started walking.

~

Peter woke up and something felt off.

  
Not off like when his junk got in a weird place in his boxers, something felt deeply, spiritually off, like the balance of the air around him had shifted. He got out of bed and put on a pair of jeans, then headed out to the common area, where Gamora was waiting.

  
“Hey,” he greeted.

  
“Good morning,” she returned quietly. She held a cup in her hand and her tablet in the other.

  
“Still tired?” Peter grabbed his own cup and poured a cup of fruit juice. There were no oranges in space, but there were still fruits, and he had managed to find something with the same “wake up for the day” effect. He sat down at the table as Gamora groaned.

  
“I got plenty of sleep but I guess I still have the desire for more.” As if her body felt the need to emphasize her point, she yawned aggressively, putting down her cup to cover her mouth.

  
“Damn,” Peter remarked. “You do sound pretty beat. Why don’t you head back to bed? We’re just refueling. You don’t have to do anything.”

  
She smiled tiredly, but gratefully. “Thank you. I will.”

  
Gamora stood from the table and made her leave, making Peter the only one left at the table. He drummed on the table a bit, looking around for any sign of anyone else. 15 minutes went by, according to the clock. “Man, I forgot how much waking up early sucks.”

  
“How does the act of waking up early physically suck on something?”

  
Peter perked up as Drax entered the area. The large man came in and sat right down without preamble, without even getting anything from the kitchen. “It’s a metaphor, it doesn’t actually physically--”

  
“--I know, Quill. You have used this expression enough that I am able to understand the basic message you mean to convey.”

  
“Oh. Cool.” He looked around the room feeling like a fool for a bit until he felt the need to speak.  
“Hey, does today feel kinda...odd to you?”

  
“Not particularly, but I am probably not the best kind of person to ask about that."

  
Peter nodded. “Right. I’ll check with Rocket, he might have extra senses that can detect that kind of shit.”

  
The human stood and walked to the hall that contained the doors to everyone’s rooms. When he got to Rocket’s door, he stopped and knocked. “Hey, man. You up?”

  
No reply.

  
Well, that was odd. Rocket wasn’t a heavy sleeper at all--usually if one of them were to knock on the door they would be greeted with a grumpy Rocket telling them to stop/shut the fuck up/both.

Nothing of the sort was happening right now. Peter pressed a button to open the door. It was his ship, after all, and by extension his door. It slid open, and Peter’s eyes went wide as it revealed a room with no one in it. He took a quick look around the room. All of Rocket’s possessions seemed to be in place, but the resident of the room wasn’t there. Peter left the hall and entered the commons again, where Drax still was. “Did Rocket say he was heading out anywhere?”

  
“Not that I am able to recall.”

  
“Hmm.” Peter took the steep stairs up to the cockpit, finding a potted Groot looking at the buildings of the city they were in. “Hey, buddy.”

  
“I am Groot?”

  
“No, I don’t think so. Have you seen Rocket today?”

  
“I am Groot. I am Groot?”

  
“Nope, and there wasn’t a trace of him in his room.”

  
“I am Groot?”

  
“I’ll find him, buddy, don’t worry.” Peter stepped down out of the cockpit, but he himself wasn’t convinced.

  
After searching the rest of the ship, it became clear that Rocket wasn’t there. Peter swore and grabbed his bag, heading towards the exit out the bottom of the ship.

  
“Are you going out?” Drax asked.

  
“Yeah, I’ll be back.”

  
_Hopefully with another member in tow_ , he thought.

~

Rocket had no idea what he was doing, if he was being perfectly honest. Getting off of the ship was easy as hell, but now he was out in the wild. He had no Groot, so all he had to rely on was his gun, and it was a damn good gun, but if he were to be snuck up on he might be fucked. He rounded a corner and the last thing he expected to see was Peter fucking Quill standing there, a small device in hand. They both looked at each other for a couple seconds before Peter spoke.

  
“Hey.”

  
“How.”

  
“How what?” Peter asked, raising an eyebrow.

  
“How did you find me?”

  
Peter grinned sheepishly and held up the device in his hand. “I have everyone’s tablet installed with a tracker. I thought it would be useful in case they lost them, but uh...it worked here, I guess.”

  
“Shit.” Rocket sighed, scuffing his feet on the ground.

  
“Were you just...goin’ for a walk, or…?”

  
“I was leavin’.” Rocket didn’t want to see the hurt in Peter’s eyes, so he turned away. Peter got down on one knee so that he was level with Rocket, putting a hand on his shoulder.

  
“Why were you gonna do that?”

  
“Because.”

  
Peter almost laughed. “Because why?”

  
“Because nobody fucking needs me here!”

  
Peter recoiled a bit as Rocket made that outburst. Rocket shook his head and continued.  
“Because...because no matter what I just make trouble. I bring you guys down, I’m insensitive, I never fucking learn, and you guys don’t actually want me around! I’m sure of it, how could you guys want a fuckin freak like me on your team? You…”

Rocket would have finished his sentence, but at that moment his legs gave out and Peter had to catch him.

  
“Woah, dude! How much sleep did you get?” Peter couldn’t help but notice how comfortable Rocket’s weight in his arms was.

  
“Thirty minutes…I think. Whatever, I’m fine.” He made an attempt to get out of Peter’s arms, but he was far too exhausted, emotionally and physically.

  
“You can definitely leave if you want, but...I want you to come back. It would suck if you left. You’re the brains here. We like having you around.”

  
He sighed and went completely limp in Peter’s arms. “You don’t mean that.”

  
Peter laughed, and Rocket could feel the vibrations from the chest his head leaned against. “Hey man, you can be an asshole sometimes, but we would never want you gone.”

  
Rocket sighed, and Peter shivered a bit from the hot air blown across his chest. The smallest tendrils of desire started creeping into his brain, and he had to give his all to ignore their prodding.

  
“You want me gone.”

  
“No, I really don't. I love having you here.”

  
“I love you,” Rocket said.

  
Peter froze in place.

  
“I mean that. Not just ‘cause I'm tired, even though this delirium is givin’ me a bit of confidence.”

  
Peter stood and started walking in silence for a couple moments.

  
“Do...do you mean as like bros? Or…”

  
“I'm in love with you, ya d’ast idiot.”

  
Peter’s eyes widened, but he kept walking. Rocket really thought of him like that? He thought he was pretty perceptive, especially when it came to his team, but he had no idea. “Really?”

  
“Yeah, since...I guess since I met you. You never called me a freak, or a rodent...You’ve always treated me good, better than anyone ever has." Rocket exhaled and closed his eyes. “You can say no now, Quill. I'm a big boy. I can take it.”

  
The way Rocket clearly expected rejection caused a pang of sympathy in Peter’s heart. He had probably never been in any kind of relationship, maybe had never even felt these kinds of feelings for anyone before. Peter rounded a corner and ignored some of the looks people threw the Terran carrying a sleepy genetically modified raccoon. By the time Peter had reached the Milano, he could have assumed that Rocket was sleeping if not for the way he occasionally opened an eye to look at him. He reached the floor hatch and shifted Rocket so he was more upright. “Hey, do you want to come to my room?”

  
“I don't want to drink right now.”

  
“Well, actually, my plan was this--after I finish saying this I ask you to go out with me. Then we go to my room and take a fucking nap, ‘cause you need it. We can wake up and maybe cuddle, maybe more if you feel like it. Either way I want to kiss you a whole damn lot. Then I suppose we can let the day play out from there. Hey, do you want to go out with me?”

  
Rocket threw his arms around Peter’s neck with a force he didn't think possible and buried his face in the Terran with a muffled sob. When he lifted his face he wiped his eyes and nodded, the biggest grin Peter had ever seen him wear on his face.

“Let’s go,” Peter said, and entered the ship with Rocket in tow. 

 


End file.
